Congress this week voted in favor of a bill known at the Space Act of 2015, also called H.R. 2262 or the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, which opens the door — or rather, the sky — to independent firms looking to make a profit in space.

The Space Act, which awaits President Barack Obama's signature, aims to expand the U.S. space industry by letting private firms (as in not NASA or the military) launch missions to explore and collect space materials for commercial purposes. That means companies that can afford to launch a private mission to excavate in space could, in theory, mine asteroids for precious minerals.